The Best of New Order

New Order's first compilation album, Substance (1987), finally broke the group through to commercial success in the U S Its second one, The Best of New Order, isn't exactly Substance II. The previous set was a singles collection, and Best Of does pick up that story, including a series of songs ?"True Faith" (in a new remix),"Touched by the Hand of God,""Blue Monday 88,""Fine Time,""Round & Round" (in a new remix),"Run," and"World in Motion" ? that were bigger hits in the U.K. than in the U.S. (Also included is the group's biggest U S hit,"Regret" as well as its charting follow-up,"World [The Price of Love].") But in addition, the compilers have included one song each from the group's albums, with the exception of Brotherhood ?"Dreams Never End" from Movement,"Age of Consent" from Power, Corruption & Lies,"Love Vigilantes" from Low-Life,"Vanishing Point" from Technique, and"Ruined in a Day" from Republic. Add in some rarities, plus"Bizarre Love Triangle," repeated from Substance, and you have 17 tracks taking up 70 and a half minutes and providing a good survey of New Order, 1981-1993. Substance, with its concentration on the group's run of classic singles from the early '80s, is a more consistent effort, but The Best of New Order, even if it is misnamed, is an excellent sampler of one of the major British bands of the 1980s.